Augustin Carrera, Naked Sleeping

Augustin CARRERA (1875-1952) 
Sleeping nude
Oil on canvas
80 x 114 cm

Provenance :
Private collection, South of France


Born to French parents in Madrid on April 3, 1878, Augustin Carrera showed a talent for drawing from an early age, and was soon enrolled in art schools. He first studied with Alphonse Moutte (1840-1913) in Marseille, then with Léon Bonnat (1833-1922) at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Receiving a scholarship from the city, Carrera was one of the brightest students in the studio, and quickly made a name for himself as a talented artist.

After his marriage, Augustin Carrera entered a difficult period. He and his wife were in a precarious situation and had to earn a living, but this didn't stop him from painting; on the contrary, it drove him to draw with unprecedented determination. In the galleries and museums he frequented, Carrera observed and immersed himself in the works of Cézanne, Gauguin and Seurat. However, it was Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Van Gogh, Monet and Pissaro who had the greatest influence on his work. Landscape took on a new role in Carrera's canvases. These elements, which he had regarded as incidental, became subjects in their own right, in which he let the vivacity of his palette shine through, enabling him to approach painting in a way that was completely new to him at the time.

After receiving his second scholarship a few years earlier, in 1912 the artist was awarded the Indochina Scholarship, which marked a turning point in his work. This experience gave rise to some very fine canvases painted on the Asian continent. Carrera stayed in the Far East for eight months and brought back compositions with unprecedented subjects: temples, the banks of the Red River and scenes of local life. The King of Cambodia commissioned Carrera to create monumental panels for his palace, which the artist installed on another trip in 1928.

When war broke out in 1914, Augustin Carrera was mobilized. Wounded and convalescing by 1916, he settled in Allauch. During a trip to Spain in the years that followed, Carrera had a revelation when he discovered the works of El Greco and Velasquez. He then moved to Paris, to the Montparnasse district, the new European artistic center that had just dethroned Montmartre. Unlike the locals of the time, Carrera was a sober man, often dressed in gray. The artist's relationship with politician, collector and friend of painters Albert Sarraut (1872-1962) intensified.

As early as 1910, the statesman noted the importance of Carrera's work and did not hesitate to include him in his collection, among the greatest, which proved very useful for the artist's career. Carrera exhibited at numerous Salons, including the Salon des Tuileries, the Salon des artistes français, the Salon des indépendants, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, the Triennale Quai Malaquais and the 1937 Exposition Internationale, where he was awarded a gold medal.

The art critic François Thiébault-Sisson followed him assiduously in the newspaper “Le Temps”, helping him to consolidate his reputation, already acquired through exhibitions at the Galerie Druet, but also thanks to a contract with the Galerie Georges Petit, which gave him the opportunity to exhibit one of his favorite themes: the female nude. Carrera's work became highly prized by collectors, and the artist won several commissions. He produced two decorative panels for the French Ministry of Colonies, strongly influenced by his stay in Indochina. Fascinated by the theater, he frequented numerous establishments and was commissioned to create the sets for the Marseilles Opera in 1924.

Very close to the painters of the Provencal school, Carrera invited Hurard, Eichacker, De Groux, Audibert and Verdilhan to work with him on these monumental decors. Carrera was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur in 1920 and an Officer in 1928. While Augustin Carrera's talent is evident in the landscapes he creates for monumental settings and official commissions, the uniqueness of his art is revealed in the female nude. The painter assiduously studied anatomical detail, which he carefully transcribed onto canvas, with particular emphasis on light and tonal harmony. Carrera's nudes are reminiscent of the sensuality and eroticism of sculpture. Their modelling is revealed by the light, sculpted by the grey coloring of the flesh and paste, whose breadth attracts and holds the eye. Antoine Bourdelle said of him: “In his painting, Carrera has found a way to combine boldness of color and exquisite finesse of atmosphere. Marseillais, you have a great painter! Look after him!”